I hike a sulphurous volcano and teach rowdy 6-year olds

On Tuesday I went to one of my elementary schools and taught the new 1st grade students for the very first time. They were all adorable, sticky, loud and totally excited about learning English. As usual I was mobbed, tickled and climbed on. One child decided he didn't want to participate, and turned blind and deaf and slumped to the floor like a pile of ooze while his classmates stepped on his head. Charming. Another child gave me a back massage, but it was hard to appreciate it because another little boy kept grabbing at my chest. What is up with that? Little kids in Japan - read, boys - seem to think that breasts and butts are fair game and it's open season all the time. It's so creepy! Where do they learn these things?

Now that the snow is gone and the weather is warm I've been doing a lot of hiking. Last weekend I climbed to the top of 'Yake Dake', which is an active volcano in the Japanese Alps. It was a great work-out, and the views were gorgeous, but the hike itself was really, really stinky thanks to the numerous sulphur vents. It's hard to enjoy lunch when everything smells like rotten eggs.

Off to Tokyo this weekend for a conference, huzzah!









I took this on my way up. There was still a bit of snow on the peak, and even more down in the forest.

















On the summit. It was really, really windy.


















A Japanese hiker and a putrid, yellow sulphur vent.















I took this picture on the way down.

Remember New Years? Part II:

After getting home I quickly made some soba noodles and incredibly managed to eat some. They're a traditional New Year's Eve food, meant to represent a long life. Then I bundled up and headed out into the crisp, snowy night.

My first stop was the string of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in the Higashiyama Temple District. At midnight the bells at the temples started ringing, and would continue until they'd been rung 109 times. Supposedly this is to banish the 109 'evils', and start the New Year off right.

A Buddhist priest ringing the bell. Locals are lined up to get their chance too.

I walked up the huge staircase to my favourite Shinto shrine which is located high up a hill, surrounded by towering pine trees. There was a special ceremony taking place, and a large bonfire had been lit. I stood in the glow of the fire while the priest chanted and offerings were made by serious looking men in suits. More and more people arrived, some carrying their New Years decorations from last year. Made from straw and paper, they were tossed into the fire. After the ceremony people approached the temple altar, bowed, clapped, and made their first prayers of the New Year. I did the same, and enjoyed a small cup of sake afterwards. Then I made my way back down the hill to Kokubunji Temple, my favourite Buddhist temple in the middle of town. I stood in line to ring the bell, and soon got to climb the wooden ladder up to the bell tower. I rang my first New Years bell ( I was ring number 97), was given a sugar cake in the shape of a flower, and then walked home while the final bells rang through the clear night sky.

A blazing fire outside of a Temple

Offerings for New Years

The bell tower at Kokubunji Temple

The next day I walked through town, visiting more shrines and enjoying the peace and quiet.

At a local shrine a short walk from my apartment

A lion keeping watch in the snow

Naka Bashi (aka The Red Bridge) in the snow

Walking around was also a great chance to admire the many different New Years decorations (called 'shimenawa') that people had displayed outside their homes. Some were very simple straw and paper:



Some were simple branches of greenery (my favourite):


Some were more elaborate. The one's decorated with bright red crayfish seemed to decorate the doors of shops and inns.

Some people don't stop at mere door decorations. This shop had a whole display, including one in the window:

Remember New Years? Part I: I have a bath and eat a lot

So my original plans were to go to Thailand and Cambodia with some friends; however, when it came time to buy tickets I discovered that recently buying a car meant that I had no money. So I decided to suck-it-up and experience a traditional New Years in Japan - not exactly a terrible thing to do. As it turns out, I got sick over the holidays, which would have made for a terrible time overseas. So I guess it was just mean to be.

When my Taiko sensei heard that I was staying in Takayama she immediately invited me over for New Year's Eve dinner with her family. I jumped at the chance. After a rather painful 'conversation' over the phone (it's much harder to speak Japanese when you can't gesture wildly to help get your point across) I agreed to help B.-sensei clean the Taiko dojo, and then help her with dinner preparations.

The dinner she (we!) prepared was incredible. There was nabe (hot pot), huge crabs, a million little dishes of salads and different beans etc. There was fish and mountain vegetables and pickles and fruit. And plenty of beer and sake. I spent the afternoon peeling and chopping and stirring and stuffing and arranging.

Around 3:30, before her daughter's family came over, I was told that it was now time for me to take a bath and relax. Ok. Bathtime. I was given a towel and led to the family shower/bath room. As I was scrubbing myself off (in Japan you wash yourself outside of the bath) B.-sensei walked in! She had an armful of roses, which she proceeded to dump in the bathtub. Then she turned on the radio and told me to take my time. Then she finally left. I finished with the soap and climbed into the bath, which was full of roses. How... romantic? The radio was tuned-in to a heavy rock station that just happened to be blasting AC/DC. So I spent the afternoon of New Year's Eve taking a romantic bath, listening to AC/DC, in my Taiko-sensei's house. I bet you've never done that before!!

After my bath the rest of the family came over - kids in pajamas - and we tucked-in to dinner.



It was great to be a part of a informal, family gathering, and although we couldn't have any truly meaningful conversations, we did the best with the help of several electronic dictionaries. (After much beer and sake had been consumed I was 'asked' why there was discrimination in America. How does one answer that exactly?) In Japan there are some traditional New Years games that are played, and the B. family also had their own. The whole family played Hide and Go Seek and Karuta - kind of like the card game 'Snap'. Then they brought out an elaborate bean-bag toss game which I was terrible at. Whenever the kids 'won', they were given gift-certificates to local toy stores. They had an absolute ball! B.-sensei's 5 year old granddaughter - whose name I can't remember now - drew me pictures and made sure I was surrounded with her stuffed animals at all times.


As the night wore on, more food was eaten and drinks consumed. The grandson spent the night with his face buried in crab shells - he was after a delicacy known as 'Kani Miso' aka. Crab Brains. B.-sensei enjoyed her sake and turned a brilliant cherry red. I impressed everyone with my chopstick skills. Eventually I had to say goodbye, despite B.sensei's protests. (she sat on the hood of my car and tried to tackle me to the ground). It was a fun evening, but as midnight approached I wanted to be out among the shrines and temples.